Public Whip Count

March 31, 2010

A queer way to Queer the Census

Posted by: Chris

Though I wouldn't put it anywhere near the top of the Gay Agenda, the movement to "Queer the Census" to make sure single gay folks are counted makes good sense. After all, the Census is designed to get an accurate count of the demographic sweep of this great nation, and this year marks the first time that gay couples are being permitted to mark themselves as "married."

Even though these same-sex do not specfically have a "gay" box to check, the fact that they mark themselves as having the same gender will make that clear for them. Gay couples who are unmarried but cohabitating are also indirectly counted the same way -- by marking their gender as the same and indicating they are unmarried partners. But there's no way for gay and bisexual Americans to be counted as part of the survey.

Enter the National Gay & Lesbian Task Force, which in somewhat typical fashion takes a good idea and decreases its appeal and effectiveness. First of all, they chose to call their effort "Queering the Census," choosing a word that many gay folk would never use to describe themselves.

Second, rather than ask that the Census ask a question about sexual orientation that determines whether each person is straight, bisexual or gay, the Task Force opted to give another option: "lesbian." Maybe this was just the way they're marketing their queer effort, but wouldn't this make more sense:

Are you:

Heterosexual

Lesbian or Gay

Bisexual

I also wonder where exactly the "gender identity" question would fit in -- including it as a third option after male and female would be offensive to many -- though not all -- transgender Americans. But it doesn't fit with a question about sexual orientation either, since gender identity is an entirely different concept -- something the good folks at the Task Force regularly forget in lumping us together as "LGBT persons."

Perhaps all this could be worked out by the bureaucrats at the Census Bureau, but it seems to me a pretty queer way to ask that you be taken seriously if you haven't thought through such basic questions. The closest the Task Force comes to offering an answer is to offer an apology that, wait for it, "queer" isn't being pushed as a choice:

With
the huge bureaucracy that is the federal government, progress comes one
small step at a time. The language on our stickers was very specifically
chosen because it has been tested in other survey settings and has
accurately collected data. This is the exact language we are advocating
as part of the Census (minus "straight ally"). Some of our members don't
like it and are writing in Queer on their stickers! It's a write-in on a
write-in campaign. We encourage everyone to self-report in a manner
that feels best for them. This is the case with all Census questions; it's
about how you choose to identify yourself!

Many college organizations now use "queer", and the alphabet soup to connect a bunch of disjointed contingents has some naive people themselves "LGBT individual", which is an oxymoron.----really?I don't know!

I love the fact that, according to NGLTF, I can self-identify as a Lesbian man. Woo hoo! But back to reality for a moment, I just don't get the obsession with having absolutely everyone know exactly who I am. I can't wait for the day when some alleged rights group will want--nay, demand--the inclusion of bust and penis size in census tabulation. There once was a time when the census was truly private and gave important clues as to the makeup of society. Now it's become just another way to justify grant applications for federal and private dollars and redline people who may not fit into the norm of their dominant geographic area as well as put more private information into yet another government database. I'm glad I only answered two of the "simple ten questions". That was all they really needed to know, anyway.

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This looks absolutely perfect. All these tinny details are made with lot of background knowledge. I like it a lot. This was a useful post and I think it is rather easy to see from the other comments as well that this post is well written and useful.

Fresh off news that a church in Gainesville, Fla., is preaching politics with a "No Homo Mayor" campaign against openly gay candidate Craig Lowe, a prominent Republican in Kansas City, Mo., is going after a lesbian state senator for the sole reason that she got married.

How can parents do this to their children? I would be proud to be the father of such a great young man. Next thing you know mum and dad will demand he go to one of those gay rehabilitation clinics ("re-education camps") that pray for you to be "normal" again.

Census counts the total population of the country. It is important that all are counted so that budget for the basic needs of the people can be greatly allocated. It is important also not to be bias of be harsh on the dealings such as to those that society called third sex. It is important that there is a ruling that will definitely protect the welfare of men regardless of gender.

Census counts the total population of the country. It is important that all are counted so that budget for the basic needs of the people can be greatly allocated. It is important also not to be bias of be harsh on the dealings such as to those that society called third sex. It is important that there is a ruling that will definitely protect the welfare of men regardless of gender.